The Harlem Globetrotters are an
exhibitionbasketball team. They combine
athleticism,
theater, and
comedy in their style of play. Over the years they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 123 countries and territories. The team's signature song is
Brother Bones' whistled version of "
Sweet Georgia Brown". Their mascot is an anthropomorphized globe named Globie. The team plays over 450 live events worldwide each year. The team is currently owned by
Herschend Family Entertainment.[4] The executive offices for the team are located in suburban Atlanta.

Contents

History

The Globetrotters originated on the south side of
Chicago,
Illinois, in the 1920s, where all the original players were raised. The Globetrotters began as the Savoy Big Five, one of the premier attractions of the Savoy Ballroom opened in January 1928, a basketball team of African-American players that played exhibitions before dances. In 1928, several players left the team in a dispute. That autumn, several of the players, led by Tommy Brookins, formed a team called the "Globe Trotters" and toured Southern Illinois that spring.
Abe Saperstein became involved with the team as its manager and promoter. By 1929, Saperstein was touring Illinois and Iowa with his basketball team called the "New York Harlem Globe Trotters". Saperstein selected
Harlem,
New York,
New York, as their home city since Harlem was considered the center of African-American culture at the time and an out-of-town team name would give the team more of a mystique.[5] In fact, the Globetrotters did not play in Harlem until 1968, four decades after the team's formation.

The Globetrotters were perennial participants in the
World Professional Basketball Tournament, winning it in 1940. In a heavily attended matchup a few years later, the
1948 Globetrotters–Lakers game, the Globetrotters made headlines when they beat one of the best white basketball teams in the country, the Minneapolis Lakers (now the
Los Angeles Lakers). Once one of the most famous teams in the country, the Globetrotters were eventually eclipsed by the rise of the
National Basketball Association, particularly when NBA teams began fielding African-American players in the 1950s.[6] In 1950, Harlem Globetrotter
Chuck Cooper became the first black player to be drafted in the NBA by Boston and teammate
Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton became the first African-American player to sign an NBA contract when the
New York Knicks purchased his contract from the Globetrotters.

The Globetrotters gradually worked comic routines into their act—a direction the team has credited to
Reece "Goose" Tatum,[7] who joined in 1941—and eventually became known more for entertainment than sports.[8] The Globetrotters' acts often feature incredible coordination and skillful handling of one or more basketballs, such as passing or juggling balls between players, balancing or spinning balls on their fingertips, and making unusually difficult shots.[9]

In 1952, the Globetrotters invited
Louis "Red" Klotz to create a team to accompany them on their tours. This team, the
Washington Generals (who also played under various other names), became the Globetrotters' primary opponents. The Generals are effectively stooges for the Globetrotters, with the Globetrotters handily defeating them in thousands of games.[10][11]

In 1959, the Globetrotters played nine games in Moscow after Saperstein received an invitation from Vasily Gricorevich, the director of
Lenin Central Stadium.[12] The team, which included Wilt Chamberlain, was welcomed enthusiastically by spectators and authorities; they met Premier
Nikita Khrushchev[13] and collectively received the Athletic Order of Lenin medal.[14]

However, according to one report, spectators were initially confused: "A Soviet audience of 14,000 sat almost silently, as if in awe, through the first half of the game. It warmed up slightly in the second half when it realized the Trotters are more show than competition."[15] The Globetrotters brought their own opponent—not the Washington Generals, but the San Francisco Chinese Basketeers.[12] A review in
Pravda stated, "This is not basketball; it is too full of tricks" but praised the Globetrotters' skills and suggested that "they have some techniques to show us."[16]
The American press—particularly
Drew Pearson—made note of the fact that the Globetrotters were paid (per game) the equivalent of $4,000, which could be spent only in Moscow. The games were used as evidence that U.S.–Soviet relations were improving, that Moscow was backing off its criticism of race relations inside America, and that the USSR was becoming more capitalist (Pearson suggested that the games were held because Lenin Stadium needed money).[17][18]

Many famous basketball players have played for the Globetrotters. Greats such as "Wee" Willie Gardner,
Connie "The Hawk" Hawkins,
Wilt "The Stilt" Chamberlain, and
Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton later went on to join the NBA. The Globetrotters signed their first female player, Olympic gold medalist
Lynette Woodard, in 1985.[19] The Globetrotters have featured thirteen female players in their history. Baseball Hall of Famers Ernie Banks, Bob Gibson, and Ferguson Jenkins also played for the team at one time or another.
Because the majority of the team players have historically been
African American, and as a result of the buffoonery involved in many of the Globetrotters'
skits, they drew some criticism during the
Civil Rights era. The players were accused by some civil-rights advocates of "Tomming for Abe", a reference to
Uncle Tom and Jewish owner
Abe Saperstein. However, prominent civil rights activist
Jesse Jackson (who would later be named an Honorary Globetrotter) came to their defense by stating,
"I think they've been a positive influence... They did not show blacks as stupid. On the contrary, they were shown as superior."[6]
In 1995, Orlando Antigua became the first Hispanic player on the team. He was the first non-black player on the Globetrotters' roster since Bob Karstens played with the squad in 1942–43.[20]

While parts of a modern exhibition game are pre-planned, the games themselves are not fixed. While their opponents do not interfere with the Globetrotters’ hijinks while on defense, they play a serious game when in possession of the ball and about 20 to 30 percent of a game is "real". This once led to an infamous defeat at the hands of the Washington Generals, to the distress of a watching crowd.[21]

Note:
a. The first non-Globetrotter to have a number retired by the team was Red Klotz, the founder, owner and two-handed-set-shot artist for the Washington Generals, the long-time Harlem Globetrotters' foils. He wore #3 as a player with the Generals, as well as during his standout collegiate and high school career in Philadelphia.[31][32]

In mass media/popular culture

Soupy Sales and the Harlem Globetrotters; from a 1969 television special

The Harlem Globetrotters have been featured in several of their own films and television series:

The Harlem Globetrotters, a 1951 feature film starring
Marques Haynes and other Globetrotters, also featuring
Thomas Gomez,
Dorothy Dandridge, Bill Walker, and Angela Clarke. Young Bill Townsend drops out of college to join the famous independent Trotter team. He also finds romance along the way. "Goose" Tatum and fancy dribbler Haynes were the star players of the Globetrotters at the time and Saperstein was the owner. Tatum, Haynes, Babe Pressley, Ermer Robinson, Duke Cumberland, Clarence Wilson,
Pop Gates, Frank Washington, Ted Strong, and other current team members appear in the film as themselves. Also featured is a lot of actual game footage (three times against the Celtics with
Tony Lavelli and Big Bob Hahn), including the "Sweet Georgia Brown" warm-up routine. (Along with making the film, the team toured
Major League Baseball stadiums that year and went on their first tour of South America.)

On December 19, 1956, twelve members of the Globetrotters appeared as guest challengers on the TV panel show What's My Line? Clarence Wilson acted as the spokesman and was accompanied by members George "Meadowlark" Lemon, Charlie Hoxie, Roman Turmon, Andy Johnson, Woodrow "Woody" Sauldsberry, Carl Green, Leon Hillard, Willie Gardner, and others.

The Super Globetrotters, a second animated series created by Hanna-Barbera for
NBC in 1979. It featured the Globetrotters (now including new squad members
James "Twiggy" Sanders,
Nate Branch, and
Louis "Sweet Lou" Dunbar) as undercover
superheroes who would transform themselves by entering magic portable lockers carried in "Sweet Lou" Dunbar's
afro or in a basketball-shaped medallion. Although the Super Globetrotters would first attempt to take on the villain with standard comical heroics, things would almost always be settled with a basketball game.

In a 1979 episode of The White Shadow, the Globetrotters appear wherein Coach Reeves convinces the team to help him send his basketball team a reality check about overconfidence and underestimating their opponents as a result of a winning streak that got to his players' heads. The Globetrotters returned in season three (1980) when star player Warren Coolidge convinced that his basketball ability would preclude his need to finish high school, considers dropping out of school and trying out for the Globetrotters. After failing miserably in his tryout, Coolidge is persuaded to finish his education before giving any thought to a basketball career.

The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island, a 1981 made-for-TV film featured the Globetrotters alongside
Bob Denver and the rest of the cast of Gilligan's Island. The film's plot follows the first animated series' formula to a degree with a conflict that ends with an unusual basketball game against an opposing team made up of
robots. The Globetrotters decide to play with standard moves in the first half, which the robots are able to counter until Gilligan unwittingly comments that they have not done any fancy tricks. This makes the Professor advise the team to use their comedic style of play to win, which hopelessly confuses the machines. However, a couple of Globetrotters suffer injuries, and the team needs the help of Gilligan and Skipper to substitute.

In "Hoopla" (1984), an episode of the television series The Love Boat, the Globetrotters are on a cruise and challenged the crew to a game in the dining room.

In "
Homie the Clown", an episode of the animated series The Simpsons,
Krusty the Clown bets all the money he earned franchising his name against the Globetrotters in a game, saying that he "thought
the Generals were due". He then shouts "That game was fixed! They used a freakin' ladder for God's sake!"

The animated series Futurama features several episodes in which the Harlem Globetrotters appear as brilliant scientists as well as basketball players living on another planet, the Globetrotter Homeworld. Ironically, the Harlem Globetrotters react harshly to anyone who "laughs at their antics" as evidenced in the episode "
Time Keeps On Slippin'" (2001).

On December 5, 2010, in a game televised on
ESPN2 against the
Washington Generals from
HP Field House at the
Walt Disney World Resort in
Orlando, the game saw several landmark events occur. A four-point shot may be scored from the four-point circle 35 ft (11 m) away from the basket, with three minutes or less to go in any quarter. A penalty box was introduced as the price to be paid for any 'funny business' by a player. The Globetrotters made the first, and most, of the four-point shots in the game. All of the penalties in this game were assessed to the Globetrotters. The visiting Globetrotters went on to beat the Generals 104–98 in this historical game of firsts.[37]

Three members of the Globetrotters appear in the "Harlem NY" episode (2011) of Man v. Food Nation, in which they have to defeat a spicy two-pound barbecue sandwich in 15 minutes.

Special K Daley, Ant Atkinson, and Blenda Rodriguez of the Globetrotters made a guest appearance in the October 18, 2011, episode of Sesame Street, in which they talk with the Muppet
Elmo about the number 3.[38]

In 2012, the Globetrotters made a special guest appearance on
Disney XD's Kickin' It, in the episode "Eddie Cries Uncle".

Three members of the Globetrotters appeared in a February 28, 2012, episode of the
Blendtec online video series Will It Blend?, wherein they help Blendtec CEO Tom Dickson and his Uncle Floyd blend miniature basketballs, glitter dust, a whistle, and a bottle of
Gatorade. The team then pour the mixture into a bucket, magically turning it into confetti, which they throw on Dickson.[39]

Globetrotter Bull Bullard competed on seasons four, five and six on American Ninja Warrior. In season four, he advanced to the finals but timed out on the first stage of the finals. Bullard competed on two additional seasons.

Three members of the Harlem Globetrotters visited
North Korea alongside
Dennis Rodman in 2013, as seen in the HBO series Vice, becoming some of the first Americans to meet North Korean leader
Kim Jong Un.

In addition
Bill Cosby (1972) and
Magic Johnson (2003) were each signed to honorary $1-a-year lifetime contracts with the Globetrotters.[46][47][48] When Cosby's nominal association with the team was the subject of criticism following
sexual assault allegations, the Globetrotters stated that they had had no association with him for decades.[48]